Safety platform



Dec. 6, 1960 H. H. SMITH 2,963,108

SAFETY PLATFORM Filed June 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

#mm 1% SMIT/ A rra RME/ Dec. 6, 1960 Filed June 17, 1955 H. H. SMITH 2,963,108 SAFETY PLATFORM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTOR. /ranaz sM/rhf 4 Trams/EX of the inner surface of the building wall. 'i The present safety device is adapted for extension United States Patent() SAFETY PLATFORM Homer H. Smith, 90 Arden Park, Detroit 2, Mich.

Filed June 17, 1955, Ser. No. 516,089

1 Claim. (Cl. 182-3) This invention relates to a safety device for providing a platform upon a building upon the outside of Window openings; and more particularly the present device is adapted for the provision of a safety device for vthe washing of windows.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a safety support platform which may be removably positioned upon the exteriorof a building wall adjacent the window opening and which will have a safety device to assure against accidental displacement and at the same time positive locking features for securing the said platform in a horizontal position outwardly of the building wall.

It is the further object of the present invention to provide an additional safety device in the form of a waist engaging strap which is mounted upon a standard swiv- ,elly mounted upon the platform in order to give a certain freedom of movement to the window washer or to a painter or other person working upon the outside of a building, and at the same time anchors the said person with respect to the platform.

These and other objects will be seen from the following specication and claims in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the present safety device as mounted upon a sill adjacent an opening in a building wall, fragmentarily shown.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof with portions of the wall and sill sectioned for illustration.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5 5 of Fig. l.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of the platform taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic partially perspective illustration of a slightly different form of safety device.

It will be understood that the above drawings illustrate `merely av preferred embodiment of the invention and that other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the claims hereafter set forth.

Referring to the drawings, the building wall ,11 has a window opening 12 at the bottom of which there is provvided a conventional sill construction 13 whose outer portion is in substantial registry withthe outer surface of the wall and whose inner portion projects inwardly through the window opening, and for this purpose there are provided a pair of parallel spaced elongated supports V14 and 15, which in the preferred embodiment are angle `irons which include horizontal flanges, as well as the upright flanges 16. Said supports are mounted intermediate their. ends upon the sill 13 and immovablyse- Acured 'thereto in the manner hereafter described.

The horizontally disposed platform 17 is secured between the outer ends of the supports in the manner illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, hereafter described in detail, with the inner longitudinal edge 18 of the said platform spaced 2,963,108 Patented Dec. e, reen closely adjacent the outer surface of wall 11. Said platform also includes an outer portion having the tapered and vconverging edges 19. p

The elongated angle irons 20 supportably receive the outer marginal edges of platform 17 upon opposite sides thereof and are suitably secured thereto as by the welds 26 and 27 of Fig. 4. The anges 20 terminate in the inclined similarly arranged flanges 21 which correspond with the tapered portions 19 of the platform and which, of course, are also secured to the platform in the same manner. As shown in Figs. 1 and 6, the forward portions of the platform support anges 21 extend forwardly of the said platform as at points 22 and provide a pair of support elements on which are Secured the cylindrical journals 23 as by the welds 24, and which are arranged in spaced relation as indicated at 25 for the support of the standard swivel hereafter described.

As shown in Figs. l, 2 and 4, the upright flanges of the angle irons 20 are secured to the inner surfaces of the upright flanges 16 of the respective supports 14 and 15 as by the bolts 28 and nuts 29.

The upright plates 30 in the preferred embodiment of the invention are arranged upon opposite sides of the platform 17 adjacent its inner edge 18 and are interposed between flanges 20 and supports 14 and 15 respectively, and are secured in the depending position shown in Fig. 2 by the same bolts and nuts 28 and 29. It is contemplated, however, that the entire assembly could be welded if desired. The upright rear portions of the plates 30 are outwardly turned at right angles as at 31 below the supports 14 and 15 and are adapted to cooperatively engage outer surface portions of wall 11.

There are also provided an additional pair of upright plates 32 which are slidably mounted upon and adjustably secured upon said supports 14 and 15 for cooperatively retaining engagement with sill 13 and the inner surface of wall 11 for maintaining the complete safety device in a horizontal position as shown in Fig. 2. The plates 32 are positioned against the upright flanges 16 of the said supports with the forward portions of said plates undercut or notched as at 33 to engage over portions of sill 13. Lower portions of the plates 32 as at points 34 are turned outwardly at right angles to the plates for cooperative engagement with portions of wall 11 directly below sill 13, to thereby assure that when the plates 32 are slid into securing position as in Fig. 2, the horizontal supports and the platform 17 will be retained in the horizontal position shown. e

A locking plate 35 is associated with each of the slidable plates 32 and arranged in parallel spaced relation thereto, said locking plate engaging the horizontal ange of the respective support 14 or 15 in the manner shown in Fig. 3. The locking plate 35 has a laterally directed right angular support ange 36 which is adapted to overly and be slidably positioned upon the horizontal ange of the said supports. Locking plate 35 is interconnected with the slidable plate 32 by means of plurality of elongated bolts 37 which extend through corresponding apertures in the said plates above and below the supports, and are secured adjustably by the wing nuts 38. Upon loosening of said nuts, the plates 32 may be slid longitudinally of supports 14 and 15 for operatively engaging the sill and the inner wall 11 for securing the support and platform in the position shown, or for releasing the said platform to permit its removal. Once, however, the platform has been properly positioned for use outside of the window opening, forward sliding movement of the plates 32 operatively engages the wall 11 for tightly drawing up the outer plates 30 against the said wall to thereby provide a structure which is rigid and safe.

A pair of transverse apertures 39 are formed through forward portions of plates 32 adjacent wall 11 and are .should become ineffective.

adapted to receive therethrough the safety bar 40 whose ends as at 41 overly portions of the wall 11 adjacent the window opening for retaining and further anchoring the platform, if` for any reason the locking plates 30 or 32 In normal operation, the bar 40 is merely a safety bar and does not normally engage the wall 11 but is arranged closely thereto and will serve the function of anchoring the platform so that it could not possibly drop from the wall if the securing Adevices should break or in some manner come loose.

Within the central notch or opening 25 in the forward portion of platform 17 there is provided a swivel 42 having a pair of oppositely arranged laterally extending cylindrical shoulders 43 upon opposite sides thereof .within which are secured as by the welds 45 the outwardly projecting rock shafts or studs 44 which are cooperatively received Within the journals 23.

In construction, .the swivel mechanism is assembled `with respect to .the journals 23 and at that time the journals are welded or otherwise secured to the extension plates 22 which form a portion of the angle members 21 t thereby complete a unitary construction.

There is provided :an upright standard or shaft 46 which slidably extends through swivel 42 and at its lower end is provided with a cap 47 for limiting upward movement of the standard with respect to the swivel.

There is also provided upon the upper end of the standard a safety waist engaging strap which consists of a pair of opposed semi-circular shaped straps 4S and 49 whose one ends are extended in parallel spacedrelation and pivotally secured upon opposite sides of the standard adjacent its upper end as by the bolt and nut 51, or similar pivot.

There is provided upon one of the straps 48 a snap or clasp 52 adapted to engage the free end of the securing chain 53 which is anchored as at 54 to strap 59 for use in a conventional manner and for completing the waist engaging safety band around the user when he is working upon the platform. The standard 46 maybe elevated to the correct height corresponding to the particular user, as indicated by the dotted line indication in Fig. 2. Furthermore, the standard 46 may rock upon the horizontal axis 44 to give the user sufficient freedom of movement.

the socket 55 welded as at 56 to one of the supports 15, as in Fig. 5.

.Fig. 7 diagrammatically illustrates a slightly different form of a safety platform construction which is necessitated in those cases where there is provided upon the interior of a building wall adjacent the opening a radiator such as might prevent the positioning of the locking plates 32 close to the wall 11. Accordingly, thereis provided a slightly different structure for securing the supports and platform in a horizontal position.

Mounted upon the same type of sill and extending through the window opening are a .pair of horizontal supports 59 which have interposed between their outer ends and secured thereto a support platform 60 and which is provided with a safety waist engaging bandof the same construction as above described with respect to Figs. 1, 2 and 6, and which is omitted from Fig. 7.

Upon the outer ends of the supports 59 there are pivotally mounted as at 61 a pair of bars 62 which are There is provided between the said free ends of the bars 62 and the respective supports 59 the flexible supports 64 which in the preferred embodiment is a chain which will limit angular downward movement of the bars but which at the same time will permit collapsing of the bars into parallel engaging relation to the supports 59. It is contemplated that the flexible connection 64 may also be accomplished by any other suitable device such as a linkage which will serve the function of limiting downward movement of the bars 62 and which will also permit collapsing into parallel relation with the supports.

Arranged upon the inner ends of the supports 59 are a second pair of bars 65 whose outer ends are pivotally connected at 66 to the said supports and which bars extend angularly upward at an acute angle to wall 11, and are adapted to engage portions of the said wall in cooperation with the bars 62 for thereby maintaining the platform 60 in a horizontal position.

There are also provided transverse apertures adjacent the free ends of bar 65 through which extends the transversely arranged safety rod 67 and whose free ends overly portions of the wall 11 adjacent the window opening, and which are adapted to cooperatively engage portions of the said wall. There are also provided movement limiting chains 68 which interconnect the free ends of bars 65 with portions of the supports 59 which will limit the angular opening movement of the said bars 65, but at the same time will permit collapsing thereof into parallel engaging relation with the supports 59.

Having described my invention, reference should now be had to the claim which follows for determining the vscope thereof:

I claim:

A safety device comprising a pair of horizontally disposed parallel spaced elongated supports, a horizontally disposed platform secured between the outer ends of the supports, there being a slot through the rear of the platform, a pair of transverse aligned trunnion supports secured on the rear of the platform on opposite sides of said slot, an upright tube loosely positioned in said slot extendng between said trunnion supports, aligned trunnions extending from opposite sides of said tube journaled in said trunnion supports, a shaft slidably mounted vertically within said tube, stop means upon the lower end of said shaft operatively engageable with said tube for limiting upward movements of said shaft, a pair of horizontally disposed semi-circularly shaped waist engaging straps pivotally mounted at their outer ends upon the upper end of said shaft, and a safety chain interconnecting the free forward ends of said straps.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 273,823 Donegan Mar. 13, 1883 326,977 Hageman Sept. 29, 1885 906,925 Ponge Dec. l5, 1908 1,105,519 Jessup July 28, 1914 1,210,819 Loebel Jan. 2, 1917 1,327,025 Crozier Jau. 6, 1920 1,351,434 Newton Aug. 31, 1920 1,539,729 Gold May 26, 1925 1,604,916 Kelsey Oct. 26, 1926 1,667,788 Jovien May 1, 1928 1,921,583 -Reed Aug. 8, 1933 2,219,642 Whiteman Oct. 29, 1940 2,265,730 Hall Dec. 9, 1941 2,310,062 Broncato Feb. 2, 1943 2,420,635 Workman May 13, 1947 2,492,880 Nichols Dec. 27, 1949 2,758,769 Nunn et al Aug. 14, 1956 2,773,477 Michael Dec. 11, 1956 

